PhD opportunities & Honours Projects

Supervisor: Prof Peter Croucher

Bone metastases are a devastating clinical consequence for patients with prostate cancer. The mechanisms leading to their development are poorly defined, and approaches to prevention and treatment limited. We have developed new high-resolution imaging technology that allows us to visualize the tumour initiating cells, at a single cell resolution, in the skeleton. Projects in this area will use the latest imaging technology and next generation genetic and bioinformatic tools to establish a genetic and molecular fingerprint of these tumour-initiating cells and utilise this knowledge to develop new therapeutic approaches to preventing the development of bone metastasis.

PhD Project 2: Anti-tumour effects of bisphosphonates

Supervisor: Prof Mike Rogers

Bisphosphonate therapy has been shown to prolong the survival of patients with multiple myeloma and has anti-tumour activity in various animal models of cancer, including myeloma, but the exact mechanism remains unknown. In collaboration with Prof Peter Croucher, this project will seek to identify the mechanism underlying the anti-cancer activity of these drugs in the context of prostate cancer and other types of cancer, focusing on effects of bisphosphonates on immune myeloid cells. In vivo and ex vivo 2-photon microscopy and flow cytometry will be used to determine the distribution and cellular uptake of fluorescently-tagged bisphosphonates in mouse models of cancer. We will also use a wide variety of cell culture and molecular biology techniques to examine whether bisphosphonate treatment affects the immunesuppressive function of myeloid cells in mice and in cancer patients, and whether such effects are mediated via inhibition of protein prenylation.

Supervisor: Prof Vanessa Hayes and Co-supervisor: Dr Eva Chan

Prostate cancer is not only the most common male cancer worldwide (affecting one in every six men) it is arguably the most heritable of the common cancers. Australia has one of the highest incidence rates, with marked global disparities in both incidence and mortality. The genetic etiology of prostate cancer and this global (ethnic) disparity is however poorly understood. Clinical management is hindered by lack of reliable biomarkers and the heterogenous nature of disease course (from asymptomatic to rapid metastasis and mortality). The goal of this PhD study is to apply high-throughput genome-wide genetic approaches (from genotyping to sequencing) to identify biologically relevant (statistically significant) biomarkers of PCa that may explain disparities in prostate cancer risk and disease outcomes globally, using large local and internationally relevant study cohorts. The genetic data will furthermore be correlated with environmental factors to identify confounding associations, while biological relevance will be further investigated using both computational and laboratory-based models.

Supervisor: Prof Peter Croucher

ProMis is an international collaboration of 7 research laboratories from across Australia and the US, led by Prof Croucher. ProMis aims to deliver transformative insights into the biology and heterogeneity of prostate cancer bone metastasis and develop new therapeutic approaches to preventing prostate cancer develop in the skeleton.

We have developed new labelling technology and intravital, two-photon imaging to visualise dormant prostate cancer cells in the skeleton in real time. PCa cells are labelled with a membrane dye (Vibryant DiD), which is shared between daughter cells when cells divide. Cells that do not proliferate retain the label and are therefore dormant. We wish to determine whether LNCaP and C4-2B prostate cancer cells are retained in a dormant state in bone and have a unique transcript profile when compared to proliferating cells. Specifically we will:

Determine whether LNCaP and C4-2B cells are retained in a dormant state in bone.

Determine whether all or only a limited number of LNCaP and C4-2B PCa are retained in a dormant state in bone.